hi 5 / ; L • 37 
 
 S c. \ y „ 
 
 CHRISTIANITY, 
 
 THE ULTIMATE AND UNIVERSAL 
 RELIGION OF MAN. 
 

Christianity the Ultimate and Universal Religion of Man 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 PREACHED IN 
 
 THE BRICK CHURCH, NEW YORK, MAY 1, 1870, 
 
 FOR THE 
 
 BY THE 
 
 Rev. LEROY J. HALSEY, D.D., 
 
 CHICAGO, ILL. 
 
 PUBLISHED AT THE REQUEST OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 
 
 JIew yor\K : 
 
 BOARD OF FOREIGN MISSIONS, 
 
 23 CENTRE STREET. 
 
 1870. 
 
Cjmstranitg tljc Ultimate anb ?Iiiib:rsaI Religion of Pan. 
 
 A SERMON. 
 
 “ Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the 
 Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ 
 to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repeutance and remis- 
 sion of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at 
 Jerusalem.”— Luke xxiv : 45—17. 
 
 We live in the age of Missions. We are called to 
 take part in a grand aggressive movement, which the 
 Church of God is making: for the conversion of the world. 
 The revival of the missionary spirit, and the organization 
 of this movement, may be said to date from the opening 
 of the present century. There are, indeed, other prominent 
 characteristics by which this Nineteenth Century will be 
 known and remembered in history. It is the age of the ad- 
 vancement of science. It is the ag# of discovery, inven- 
 tion, and every useful art — the age of the telegraph, the 
 railroad, the steam-ship, and the steam-press. It is the age 
 of the wide diffusion of intelligence among the masses of 
 mankind. It is the age of commerce, and intercommun- 
 ication between the nations of the earth. But, above all, 
 it is the age of earnest, concerted, and persevering efforts 
 to carry the Gospel beyond the boundaries of Christen- 
 dom by missions to the heathen. As distinguished from 
 every other age since the Apostolic, it may be called the 
 Saeculum Evangelicum. This is its most marked distinc- 
 tion. This is its highest and most enduring glory. By 
 
4 
 
 this it will doubtless be rendered memorable in the annals 
 of the future. 
 
 If we ask for the divine warrant on which the Church 
 is acting in this great endeavor to evangelize and Chris- 
 tianize the whole human race, we shall find it in all the 
 Scriptures, but especially in that inspired record which 
 sets before us the wonderful history of Christ himself. 
 Nothing can be more striking than the world-wide char- 
 acter of His Gospel as announced both in the opening 
 and the closing pages of that history. It opens at His 
 nativity, with a voice from Heaven and the song of an- 
 gels, “ Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, 
 which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this 
 day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the 
 Lord. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, 
 good will towards men.” It closes also with a voice of 
 angels, announcing his second coming, and with the 
 promise of the Saviour about to ascend to Heaven, say- 
 ing, “ It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, 
 which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye 
 shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come 
 upon you ; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in 
 Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto 
 the uttermost part of the earth.” 
 
 During the forty days preceding his ascension, he deliver- 
 ed to his apostles the great commission, u Go ye into all 
 the world and preach flie Gospel to every creature ; ” or, as 
 it is given by another evangelist, “ Go ye, therefore, and 
 teach all nations, baptizing theiu in the name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching 
 them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded 
 you ; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end 
 of the world.” In perfect harmony with these passages 
 are the words of our text, uttered in the hearing of II is 
 apostles on the evening of the day in which he rose from 
 the dead. Referring to the things written in the law of 
 Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning 
 Himself, and opening their minds to receive the truth, 
 
5 
 
 lie said, “Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ 
 to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day ; and 
 that repentance and remission of sins should be preached 
 in his name, among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” 
 
 Here, then, in the inspired history of the Son of God, at 
 his incarnation, at his resurrection, and in the hour of his 
 ascension, we find the direct and authoritative warrant 
 for all that his people are now doing, and all that they 
 have ever done, for the conquest of the world. Here 
 are the marching: orders of the Church militant. Here is 
 the high commission of the ministry, and all the office- 
 bearers of Christ’s army. Here is the grand design for 
 which they are called of God and sent into the field. 
 Here is the glorious object for which they arc to labor on 
 together to the end of time — the proclamation of the Gos- 
 pel to every creature, the conversion of all nations to 
 Christ, the triumph of his kingdom over all the earth. 
 For this he became incarnate. For this he suffered and 
 died. For this he rose again, and ascended to heaven. 
 Thus was it written in all the Scriptures, and thus it be- 
 came necessary for him to suffer, rise from the dead, and 
 ascend to heaven, to the end that repentance and remis- 
 sion of sins should be preached in his name, among all 
 nations, beginning: at Jerusalem. The work is as wide as 
 the world ; the commission is to the end of time. 
 
 The expression here employed, “ repentance and remis- 
 sion of sins,” is a brief summary of the whole Gospel. 
 Without the shedding of blood there is no remission 
 Without the atoning blood of Christ, as the Lamb of 
 God, that taketh away the sins of the world, no forgive, 
 ness of sins, and no repentance acceptable to God could 
 ever have been preached ; no gospel of glad tidings could 
 ever have been offered to man. To preach repentance 
 and remission of sins is to preach what Paul preached 
 at Athens, “ Jesus and the resurrection,” and at Corinth, 
 “ Christ and him crucified.” It is to preach the whole doc- 
 trine of the cross. It is to preach salvation — the only 
 salvation possible to man. To preach repentance and 
 
6 
 
 remission of sins in his name is to preach Christianity. 
 For Christianity is Christ. There is no Christianity for 
 the soul without Christ, the power of God, and the wis- 
 dom of God. 
 
 This standing order of the Saviour, given to his Church 
 on the solemn and impressive occasion of his own depar- 
 ture to heaven, remains in all its sacred and binding 
 force. It is the law of his kingdom, operating through 
 all the ages, upon every minister, and elder, and member 
 of his Church. The high injunction to his Apostles was 
 to tarry at Jerusalem until they were endowed with 
 power from on high by the descent of the Holy Ghost, 
 and then to go forth to the ends of the earth. There 
 must be a beginning at Jerusalem ; but there should be 
 no end, except with the end of the world. The central 
 point of their departure was the Holy City ; but there 
 should be no limits to their progress, except with the 
 wide circuit of the earth. The work commencing in that 
 first Christian century, and on that sacred soil, trodden 
 by the feet of prophets and apostles, should never more 
 cease till every creature had heard the glad tidings, and 
 all the tribes and nations of our race had been conquered 
 by the cross ; till the story of Immanuel had been told 
 in every language, in every clime, on every continent and 
 island, in every human habitation. 
 
 Without attempting to unfold all the important truths 
 contained in this passage, let us take, as a theme appro- 
 priate to the present occasion, that which seems to be 
 its great underlying thought ; namely — that the Gospel 
 of Christ is the Ultimate and Universal Religion of Man, 
 and that, as such, it must be preached to all nations. 
 
 The proposition, as thus propounded, is twofold ; it 
 contains both a doctrine and a duty ; a statement of fact, 
 and a lesson of obligation. The one is the inevitable 
 sequence of the other. If, by divine appointment, Chris- 
 tianity is the ultimate and universal religion of man, then 
 it ought to be preached, and it will be preached, to all 
 nations. Thrown into syllogistic form, the argument may 
 
7 
 
 be stated thus : The ultimate and universal religion ought 
 to be preached, and will be preached, to all nations. 
 But Christianity is the ultimate and universal religion. 
 Christianity, therefore, must and will be preached to all 
 nations. If the premises be true, all must concede the 
 conclusion. The major premise none can doubt. Let us 
 then take up the second or middle term, that Christianity 
 is the ultimate and universal religion of man. On this 
 point we need a deeper conviction and a stronger faith. 
 The church needs to see with a clearer vision, and to feel 
 with a higher assurance, that Christianity is the true, the 
 last, and the only remedy for our ruined race. 
 
 Here, then, let us build an argument to strengthen 
 faith, to encourage hope, to quicken zeal, and to stimulate 
 exertion, in the grand work to which the Church of these 
 latter days has addressed herself, of carrying the Gospel 
 of Christ to all the nations of the earth. Let us show, 
 if we can, that Christianity is the only religion known to 
 man, which possesses all the attributes and elements of 
 supremacy, of universality, of duration, of success and 
 final victory ; and that the Church is justified in all the 
 sacrifices of time and toil, life and treasure, she is making 
 for its diffusion. 
 
 I. The first argument that may be adduced, in favor of 
 Christianity, as the ultimate and universal religion for 
 man, is derived from its origin. It is the religion of God. 
 It is not a thing of man’s devising. It begins with the 
 creation and fall of our race. It dates back even from 
 the counsels of eternity. Coming down through all the 
 dispensations of the Jewish Church, gradually unfolded 
 in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, and fully inaug- 
 urated by Christ and his Apostles in the New, it is not 
 only the most ancient, but the only divine religion which 
 has ever existed on earth. Being the first, it must be the 
 last. Being the first, it must be of God ; and being of 
 God, it can never perish. It comes with the claim of a 
 
8 
 
 celestial birthright. It already wears the crown of nearly 
 sixty centuries. 
 
 Christianity challenges the belief of all mankind, on 
 the ground of evidence both human and divine. In vin- 
 dication of its claim, it appeals directly to every high and 
 noble faculty of the human soul. Discarding every re- 
 sort to passion, prejudice, superstition, brute force, and 
 military power, it courts the keenest and closest scrutiny 
 of enlightened reason. Renouncing every artifice of ig- 
 norance or ambition, it stands ready to make good its 
 claim to divinity at the bar of the highest intelligence of 
 our race. A thousand times has it encountered the as- 
 saults of infidelity ; and a thousand times has it stood 
 fast. Of no other religion on earth can this be affirmed. 
 Appealing only to the true, the beautiful, and the good ; 
 and planting itself on the ground of reason and conscience, 
 it has, in every age and every land, demonstrated its claim 
 to a celestial origin. 
 
 Divine in its Author, Christianity is also divine in its 
 aims. It comes from God, and tends to God. It seeks 
 to raise our ruined nature to the skies. Its highest end 
 is the glory of God ; and its grand design is to elevate 
 man, and prepare him for the enjoyment of that glory. 
 It comes into a world of sin and rebellion. It comes to 
 a race at war with God, and at war with itself. It finds 
 human nature a tiger, and aims to transform it into a 
 lamb. To a world in arms it brings the gospel of peace ; 
 and strives to reconcile man to his brother-man, by first 
 reconciling him to his God. 
 
 The whole conception of Christianity, as revealed in 
 the Bible, from first to last, is that of a divine remedy for 
 sin, and death, and woe. 
 
 It is a perfect system of saving truth, emanating from 
 God our Maker, Redeemer, and Sanctifier — a system of 
 facts, doctrines, precepts, promises, penalties, means, agen- 
 cies, and influences, all given for the express purpose of 
 raising us from ruin, and fitting us for an immortr ity of 
 blessedness and glory in the heavens. 
 
9 
 
 Revealing a pure spiritual God, and a pure spiritual 
 heaven, it requires a pure spiritual worship. It seeks to 
 make man happy, by making him holy ; and to make him 
 holy, by making him like his God. And it accomplishes 
 its ends, not by fleets and armies, not by human might or 
 power, not by the thunder of artillery, or the lightning of 
 any earthly sword ; but by the sword of the Spirit, and the 
 truth of God. It conquers by moral and spiritual power, 
 or not at all. The weapons of its warfare are not carnal, 
 but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong- 
 holds. 
 
 Is there any intelligent man, who can read the Bible, 
 and fail to see, that this is the true ideal and end of Chris- 
 tianity, as a remedial system? And is there any candid 
 student of history, who will deny, that from the hour, 
 when this gospel was completed on the Cross, and weut 
 forth from Jerusalem to be preached to the Gentile nations, 
 it has everywhere vindicated itself as the religion of hea- 
 ven? In the face of the most formidable opposition that 
 was ever arrayed against any cause, has it not won the 
 profound and admiring homage of millions of mankind, 
 including many of the most powerful and brilliant think- 
 ers that have adorned the annals of civilized history ? 
 
 What other religious system, then, ancient or modern, 
 can dispute with Christianity the claim to a Divine ori- 
 gin ? Of all the religions in the world, where is the com- 
 petitor? Shall the sensual and war-clad religion of the 
 Koran, or the old and effete systems of China and India, 
 be placed in the balances against the Gospel ? To name 
 them in this connection, would be as absurd, as to call 
 back the exploded idolatries of the old pagan nations, 
 whose lords many, and gods many, are buried in the dust 
 of ages. Of all the religions now in the world, it may be 
 as truly said, as of those which are dead and gone, that 
 Christianity is without a rival. Of Divine religions, there 
 is but one. It is the first ; and it is destined to be the 
 last. It extends back to the gates of Paradise Lost, and 
 forward to those of Paradise Regained. 
 
10 
 
 We need not press tlie point; but every intelligent and 
 candid mind must feel the force of the argument, that the 
 only Divine religion ought to be preached, and will yet 
 be preached to the whole family of man. 
 
 II. The next reason we offer, in proof of the proposi- 
 tion, that Christianity is to be the final and universal reli- 
 gion, is found in its perfect adaptation to human nature. 
 It is the only religion ever preached on earth, which is ad- 
 equate to all the necessities of our condition as lost and 
 guilty sinners; to give us peace of conscience towards 
 God, and a good hope of eternal life beyond the grave. 
 It is suited alike to every clime and nation, and to every 
 condition in which men are found, from the heights of 
 hereditary power to the extremes! depths of poverty and 
 wretchedness. The air we breathe, the sunshine and the 
 rain from heaven, and the food which sustains our mortal 
 existence, are not more perfectly adapted to their end, than 
 the gospel of Christ is adapted to the soul. 
 
 Having God for its author, truth for its basis, salvation 
 for its end, and the crown of life as its reward, this is the 
 only religious system ever propounded, which is at once 
 worthy of the acceptation of all mankind, and suited to 
 their wants and woes, hopes and aspirations, as dying, yet 
 immortal beings. It is the only religion of well-grounded 
 faith, of perfect love, of soul-cheering hope, of universal 
 peace, of self-denying virtue. It is the only religion of 
 reconciliation and atonement. It proclaims the absolute 
 fatherhood of God, and the unbroken brotherhood of man, 
 teaching that all men are the “ offspring of God, who hath 
 made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the 
 face of the earth.’’ 
 
 It provides and offers a salvation, ample as the wants of 
 the world, and competent to heal the maladies of every 
 soul that will receive it. Coming with the price of an in- 
 finite sacrifice, even the blood of the Son of God, to remove 
 the guilt of sin, and with the potential influence of the 
 Spirit of God, to wash away the pollution of sin, it does 
 
11 
 
 for man what nothing else has ever (lone or can do — lays 
 a foundation for his faith in God, raises him up from the 
 degradation of sin, transforms his character into the like- 
 ness of Christ, and inspires his heart as by the power of 
 an endless life. It is the power of God unto salvation to 
 every one that believeth ; to the Jew first and also to the 
 Greek. 
 
 This world- wide adaptation of the gospel of Christ 
 distinguishes it from every other religious system. It is 
 as wide and unrestricted, in its offers of grace and mercy, 
 as have been the ravages of sin and death. Wherever sin 
 and death have gone, there may the gospel go ; there is 
 the gospel needed. Its invitation is, “ Whosoever will, let 
 him take the water of life freely. Ho ! every one that 
 thirsteth : come ye to the waters. Look unto me, and be 
 ye saved, all the ends of the earth ; for I am God, and there 
 is none else.” 
 
 The one blood of the Cross is offered to all, and adapted 
 to all in whose veins flows the one blood of creation, 
 That blood is as adequate for the redemption of the whole 
 race, as for the redemption of a single soul. It is wonder- 
 ful to observe, how the unities cluster around the cross of 
 Christ — one God and Father of all, one Mediator, one dying 
 race, one offering for siu, one Divine Spirit, one faith, one 
 baptism, one Gospel, one Church, one common salvation, 
 and one eternal heaven. There is but one Bible, and but 
 one religion made for man. 
 
 In this respect Christianity stands forth in solitary and 
 unapproachable grandeur. All other religions have been 
 local and national, without even the conception of a uni- 
 versal extension. All others have risen, flourished, and 
 decayed within their narrow domains, except only as they 
 have been propagated by immigration, or the sword. None 
 but Christianity has ever sent its missionaries across the 
 seas, and its evangelists to the ends of the earth. It has 
 been reserved for the Gospel, to grasp the idea of one faith 
 for all nations, and to teach that its field is the world, and 
 its home the heart of every human being. 
 
12 
 
 Its mission is alike to the Jew and the Gentile, to the 
 wise and the unwise, to the lonely islanders of tLe ocean, 
 and to the teeming millions of the continent; for here, in 
 the words of an apostle, “ there is neither Greek nor Jew, 
 circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond 
 nor free ; but Christ is all, and in all.” Can any man, then, 
 deny the conclusion, that this Divine Gospel, so full in its 
 provisions, so free in its offer, and so adapted to human 
 nature, shall be preached to all nations as the ultimate and 
 universal religion ? 
 
 III. Another consideration, which may be offered, in 
 support of our main proposition, is drawn from the pro- 
 phecies of the Old Testament Scriptures. It is there 
 clearly and repeatedly predicted, that the Gospel of Christ 
 should finall} triumph over all opposition, and become the 
 accepted belief of all mankind. From the first promise of 
 a Saviour in Eden, down to his advent, this forms one of 
 the most fruitful themes of prophetic inspiration. The 
 coming of Immanuel in the flesh, and with it, the establish- 
 ment of his kingdom over the nations; the preaching of his 
 Gospel to the ends of the earth, and the ushering in of the 
 latter-day glory of the Church, “ when the earth shall be 
 full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the 
 sea,” may be said to constitute the grand burden of Old 
 Testament prediction. 
 
 Through all the Prophets, and all the Psalms, and pre- 
 sented in the glowing imagery of Hebrew poetry, stands 
 forth the sublime conception of a universal religion of holi- 
 ness and truth, and a universal kingdom of righteousness 
 and peace, which should break over every opposing bar- 
 rier of error and superstition, and bring every knee to bow, 
 and every tongue to confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to 
 the glory of God the Father. This is the golden age of 
 glory, when all shall know the Lord, from the least to the 
 greatest; when all flesh shall see his salvation; when all 
 nations shall walk in the light of his countenance; when 
 the tabernacle of God shall be with men ; when the lion 
 
13 
 
 and tlie lamb shall lie down together; and there shall be 
 nothing to hurt or destroy, in all his holy mountain. 
 
 This magnificent conception, which runs with increasing 
 clearness through all the Scriptures, is found in the very 
 first promise which God gave to Abraham, when he es- 
 tablished with him, as the Father of the Faithful, his ever- 
 lasting covenant, and spoke of the Messiah to come, say- 
 ing, “ In thee and in thy seed, shall all the families of the 
 earth be blessed.” 
 
 This conception of a final and all-conquering kingdom, 
 fills the mind of the inspired Psalmist, when describing 
 that Messiah’s reign, he says, “Yet have I set my King 
 upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree : the 
 Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my son ; this day have 
 I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the 
 heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of 
 the earth for thy possession.” 
 
 From the glowing pages of Isaiah, whole chapters might 
 be quoted, in illustration of the same great truth. “ It 
 shall come to pass in the last days,” says he, “ that the 
 mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the 
 top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills ; 
 and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall 
 go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of 
 the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob ; and he will 
 teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths : for 
 out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the 
 Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the na- 
 tions, and shall rebuke many people, and they shall beat 
 their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into 
 pruning-hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against na- 
 tion, neither shall they learn war any more.” 
 
 To this may be added another passage from the same 
 evangelical prophet, describing the final triumph of the 
 Gospel, and the millennial glory of the Church. “ Arise, 
 shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is 
 risen upon thee. For behold, the darkness shall cover the 
 earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall 
 
14 
 
 arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 
 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the 
 brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, 
 and see : all they gather themselves together, they come 
 to thee : thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters 
 shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow 
 together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged ; be- 
 cause the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto 
 thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.” 
 
 In harmony with these glowing descriptions, we have 
 the word of the Lord by Malachi, who closes the long line 
 of Old Testament prophecy: “From the rising of the sun, 
 even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be 
 great among the Gentiles ; and in every place incense shall 
 be offered unto my name, and a pure offering ; for my 
 name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of 
 hosts.” 
 
 Now, can we for a moment doubt, that a religion, whose 
 final triumph was thus distinctly foretold, and described, 
 under the inspiration of God, two thousand, and even 
 three thousand years ago, shall ye fulfil its grand destiny, 
 and realize this glorious conception of complete and uni- 
 versal dominion ? Then, how great is the obligation, how 
 urgent the duty, how strong the encouragement, to the 
 Church, to preach it to all nations. 
 
 IV. But we must now add another element to our argu- 
 ment, closely allied to the one just stated. It is, that the 
 great Founder, Christ himself, distinctly contemplated 
 Christianity, as the last and triumphant religion. Of this, 
 our text, and the parallel passages, furnish abundant proof. 
 Of this, his solemn charge, to preach it to all nations, is an 
 ample demonstration. 
 
 He predicted, that it should begin at Jerusalem, em- 
 brace all nations, and continue to the end of the world. 
 He, who was greater than all the prophets, said, that he 
 would build his church upon himself, the Rock of Ages, 
 and that the gates of hell should not prevail against it. 
 
15 
 
 Of all the thoughts lie uttered while upon earth, none was 
 more clearly stated, than that his kingdom was as wide 
 as the world, and should outlast the world — that it should 
 subdue all other kingdoms, and be transferred to the new 
 heavens, and the new earth. 
 
 With unerring vision, he foresaw the end from the be- 
 ginning, and predicted the result. He saw of the travail 
 of his soul, and was satisfied. lie knew what was in man, 
 and he knew what should be in the world. He came to 
 suffer, to die, and to conquer. He saw Satan fall, as light- 
 ning from heaven, and his kingdom demolished. He 
 looked through suffering and death, through the cross and 
 the sepulcher, to the crown of final triumph. He foresaw 
 his gospel carried to the euds of the earth, and nations 
 born in a day. Having laid the foundations of his empire, 
 in suffering, as our great High Priest, he ascended to his 
 mediatorial throne as our exalted King, to reign and rule, 
 till all enemies are put under his feet. 
 
 On one occasion, in view of his approaching crucifixion, 
 he said, “ And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto 
 me.” On another occasion, speaking of the great things 
 which should fill up the interval between his first and sec- 
 ond coming, he said, “ And this gospel of the kingdom shall 
 be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; 
 and then shall the end come.” Thus, during his public 
 ministry, after his resurrection, and as he ascended to hea- 
 ven, he comprehended in one view the whole course of time, 
 and declared, that his gospel should be preached to all na- 
 tions, even to the end of the world. As a Priest he had 
 died for it, as a Prophet he had foretold it, as a King he 
 ascended to heaven to accomplish it. This was a part of 
 the Divine plan ; this was the result of his own Divine mis- 
 sion, “that repentance and remission of sins should be 
 preached in his name, among all nations, beginning at Jeru- 
 salem.” 
 
 So the Apostle Paul views it, in that remarkable pas- 
 sage, in which he speaks of the preaching of the Gospel to 
 '-•he Gentiles, as one of the wonders of redemption. “ And 
 
16 
 
 without controversy great is the mystery of Godliness; 
 God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen 
 of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the 
 world, received up into glory.” 
 
 Thus the Divine Founder of Christianity, having finish- 
 ed on the cross, what had been written of him, in Moses, 
 and the Prophets, and the Psalms, and having inaugura- 
 ted his church and ministry under a final dispensation, 
 gives them this last great command, “ Go ye into all the 
 world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that 
 believeth, and is baptized shall be saved, but he that be- 
 lieveth not shall be damned.” Never w r as any parting 
 charge more comprehensive in its range, more authorita- 
 tive in its tone, more binding in its obligations, more 
 solemn and momentous in its issues. 
 
 It was the beginning of the end so long contemplated. 
 It w T as the actual setting up of that spiritual kingdom, 
 which was not of this world ; and was to break in pieces 
 every opposing kingdom of the world. This great and 
 comprehensive command, embracing all nations, and all 
 time in its mighty sweep, is itself a demonstration that the 
 author of Christianity was Divine ; and that in his death, 
 his resurrection, and his ascension to heaven, he accom- 
 plished a work, which, in the grandeur of its conception, 
 the permanency of its results, and the benefits it secures, 
 places him upon an elevation, unapproached and unap- 
 proachable, by all the achievements of the sages, philoso- 
 phers, and heroes of this world. Where is the religious 
 system that has ever issued a command like this, inaugu- 
 rated a philanthropy like this, developed and put into 
 execution a conception like this — a gospel breathing peace 
 on earth, and good will to all men, committed by its great 
 Author to his people, with the injunction to preach it to 
 all nations, and with the promise, that he will be with 
 them, to the end of the world ? Do we need any higher 
 demonstration than is furnished by this command, that the 
 Gospel of Christ must go on conquering, and to conquer, 
 until it shall win a final and universal dominion, and the 
 
17 
 
 prayer of all ages, Thy kingdom come, shall be an- 
 swered ? 
 
 V. And yet another link may be added to this chain. 
 It is the demonstration of history. It is the logic of events 
 — the great events, that have marked the progress and 
 triumph of eighteen centuries. Christianity has already 
 done enough to prove that it can do all that remains. It 
 has erected its standards, and won its trophies all along the 
 ages which are past. Human nature is the same in every 
 era, and every land ; and the future is iu no sense more 
 difficult than the past. 
 
 There are no fiercer foes for the Gospel yet to meet, than 
 it has already met. There are no harder battles yet to 
 fight, than it has already fought. There are no costlier 
 conquests yet to win, than it has already won on a thou- 
 sand fields. The religious system, which could withstand 
 the fierce fanaticism of the Jewish race, which could con- 
 quer the brilliant philosophy and mythology of classic 
 Greece, which could face the ten fiery persecutions of Ro- 
 man power, which could meet and vanquish the bloody 
 barbarians of Central and Northern Europe, need not 
 shrink from any encounter it may have to make with the 
 hoary idolatries of the present pagan world. 
 
 Our argument for Christianity, as thus far presented, 
 based upon its Divine origin, its adaptation to human 
 nature, the prophecies of the Old Testament, and the com- 
 mand of its great Founder, would have been complete and 
 satisfactory at the opening of the Apostolic age, even be- 
 fore a single preacher had gone forth from Jerusalem, ora 
 single convert had been won from the Gentile world. 
 
 If, therefore, we had no history of the past, the duty of 
 the Church would be clear and urgent, even as it was at 
 the beginning, to carry the gospel to the heathen. But if 
 the argument would be conclusive and satisfactory in that 
 case, much more is it now. What excuse is there for un- 
 belief and delay, after this added demonstration of eighteen 
 centuries ? If the apostles were now in the world, seeing 
 
18 
 
 what we see, and knowing what we know, of the wonder- 
 ful things which God has wrought, and of the wonderful 
 progress which the Gospel is making in every part of the 
 world, where it has been preached, what would they think 
 of our indecision and delay ? 
 
 To feel the full force of this argument from history, for 
 the final and universal prevalence of the gospel, let us 
 briefly recur to the three great periods of its triumph. 
 
 The first, is that of the primitive church, commencing 
 with the labors of the apostles, and culminating in the 
 conversion of Constantine. Can any demonstration be 
 more signal and complete, for the gospel, as the mighty 
 power of God, than its successful progress during the first 
 three centuries ? It was the first grand missionary move- 
 ment, furnishing a divine model for all subsequent ages. 
 Beginning at Jerusalem, according to Christ’s great com- 
 mand, the gospel went forth from city to city, from land 
 to land, until, in three centuries, it had swept the circuit 
 of all the nations surrounding the Mediterranean, pene- 
 trated to the utmost limits of the Roman world, and be- 
 come the prevailing religion of the empire. 
 
 With no power, but that of truth, of love and of God, 
 it had won its way over the combined unbelief and oppo- 
 sition of the three great races, which had so long held the 
 mastery of the world, and embodied the civilization of an- 
 tiquity. It had been preached in the three languages in- 
 scribed upon the cross of the dying Son of God — the 
 Hebrew, Greek and Latin ; and it had met and conquered, 
 on their own arena, the Jew, the Greek and the Roman. 
 It had been preached in all the tongues spoken on the day 
 of Pentecost ; and it had proclaimed the truth, as it is in 
 Jesus, to Barbarians, Scythians, bond and free, in their re- 
 motest borders. 
 
 In all history, has there ever been a more difficult 
 achievement, or a grander triumph ? Is there any tliiug, 
 in the Paganism of our day, harder to overcome, than the 
 prejudice of the Jew, the philosophy of the Greek, the 
 pride of the Roman, and the ferocity of the ancient Bar- 
 
19 
 
 barian? Is there any thing, in the superstitions of the 
 African, in the learned traditions of the Hindoo, in the 
 boasting philosophy of the Chinese, in the savage wildness 
 of the American Indian, and in the fanatical zeal of the 
 Mohammedan, more formidable than that which the Gospel 
 vanquished in its first great conflict with the religious 
 systems of antiquity ? 
 
 The second period of progress and triumph, is that 
 which extends from Constantine down through the Mid- 
 dle Ages ; during which the Gospel subdued and reclaim- 
 ed the warlike and bloody idolaters of all Central aud 
 Northern Europe. The earth has probably never been 
 trodden by tribes and races, more fierce and intractable, 
 than those which once peopled Europe, overthrew the Ro- 
 man Empire, aud became the founders of the present 
 European nations. 
 
 But what are they now ? The most enlightened, power- 
 ful and highly civilized portion of the globe. xVnd what 
 has civilized them ? The Gospel of Jesus Christ. By 
 what instrumentality were they converted to Christ ? By 
 the preaching of the Cross ; by missions to the heathen. 
 They were once all heathens, of the darkest, fiercest, most 
 vindictive character. When Christianity first encountered 
 them, they were as ignorant, as barbarous, as much with- 
 out hope, and without God in the world, as any of the 
 Pagan tribes and nations to which the Gospel is now 
 sent. 
 
 But during the long progress of ages, the Gospel was 
 preached, the Scriptures were translated, the generations 
 were taught and trained, the foundations of the Church 
 were laid, a native ministry was raised up, and the mighty 
 change was wrought. For centuries all Europe was a 
 missionary field ; and at last, all Europe was converted 
 from idolatry to Christ. The rude Goth, the roving Van- 
 dal, the treacherous Frank, the warlike Norman, the 
 daring Saxon, the ferocious Hun, the sturdy German, the 
 impetuous Celt, the hardy Scot, the fur-clad Scandinavian 
 became a Christian. 
 
20 
 
 Let it never be forgotten, that all the nations of modern * 
 Europe were evangelized and civilized by Christianity. 
 This was its second great missionary triumph, not less de- 
 cisive and important than the first. This is the work, 
 which it was doing through all the Middle Ages. And 
 though its power was greatly impaired by the corruption 
 and despotism of the Papacy, yet its progress was onward 
 and upward ; and it prepared the material, out of which 
 sprang the memorable Reformation of the Sixteenth Cen- 
 tury. And now behold the result of missions to the hea- 
 then — Christian Europe, and Christian America, two 
 continents conquered and given to Christ. Shall we, then, 
 whose own ancestors were once savage idolaters, doubt 
 the power of the Gospel to convert the heathen, and to 
 win its final and universal victory ? 
 
 When asked, therefore, what our missionaries are doing 
 in India and China, we answer, precisely what the early 
 missionaries and evangelists did for all the nations of 
 Europe; and by the blessing of God with the same 
 results. 
 
 And now, we are in the opening century of the third 
 period. The first great conquest prepared for the second ; 
 and the second, with its glorious Reformation and revival, 
 prepared all Europe and America for the third. The Holy 
 Land was the first base-line of operation ; then the Roman 
 Empire; then Protestant Europe; and then America. 
 First from Jerusalem ; then from Rome ; then from Lon- 
 don ; and now from London, and New York, and San 
 Francisco to all the world. Westward the star of empire 
 takes its way ; and Westward has the Sun of the Gospel 
 travelled, till it is now brightening all the eastern horizon 
 with the dawn of a final day. 
 
 In obedience to the great command, which began to be 
 fulfilled at Jerusalem, and has been fulfilling, on an ever- 
 widening field, the Church, is now, in this Nineteenth 
 Century, girding herself for that last aggressive movement, 
 which is to make the boundaries of Christendom the 
 boundaries of the world. The Christianity of this Nine- 
 
21 
 
 teen tli Century, with the glorious prestige of all the past, 
 is active, aggressive, and hopeful. Her broad banner is 
 floating on the breeze, and on it written “ The everlasting 
 Gospel for the nations.” 
 
 We'stand nowin the midst of that going forth of the 
 heralds of salvation, which seems to be symbolized in the 
 visions of the Apocalypse, under the imagery of the flying 
 angel. “ And I saw another angel fly in the midst of 
 heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto 
 them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and 
 kindred, and tongue, and people, saying, with a loud 
 voice, Fear God, and give glory to him ; for the hour of 
 his judgment is come ; and worship him that made heaven 
 and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of the waters.” 
 
 And now behold the demonstration of success and 
 triumph, in our own day. Look abroad, over the heathen 
 world, and mark the living witnesses of gospel grace in 
 every missionary station, from Greenland to the Southern 
 Cape, from Japan to the most distant islands of the sea. 
 It is only three-quarters of a century since this last great 
 work began ; and see what wonders God has wrought ! 
 
 In connection with Protestant evangelical churches, 
 there is now in the missionary field, a grand aggregate of 
 three thousand five hundred ordained missionaries, foreign 
 and native, six thousand six hundred assistant mission- 
 aries, foreign and native, three hundred and twenty thou- 
 sand communicants, and two hundred and twenty -five 
 thousand scholars in the mission schools. Here are more 
 than a quarter of a million of souls reclaimed from idola- 
 try, added to the Church of Christ, and standing as living 
 witnesses of the power of his gospel. 
 
 Can we doubt, that the power, which has converted this 
 vast multitude to Christ, in answer to the prayer, and the 
 effort of the Church, is competent to carry forward the 
 work to its complete and final consummation ? Is any 
 thing too hard for the Lord? Is any thing too hard for 
 Him who has accomplished all these wonders, and who 
 has said to his Church, “ The nation and the kingdom that 
 
, 22 
 
 will not serve tliee, shall perish. Yea, those nations shall 
 be utterly wasted ? ” 
 
 In opposition to all this, it has sometimes been ashed, 
 in unbelief, Why has the progress of missions been so 
 slow ? If Christianity be Divine, and the only religion 
 for man, why have not all nations been converted long 
 ago? In answer to such an objection, it is sufficient to 
 say, that the God of Providence is not straitened for time. 
 “ Providence,” says one, “ makes a step, and ages have 
 rolled away.” If it took four thousand years to prepare 
 the way for the advent of Christ, and the first promulga- 
 tion of his gospel to the nations, shall we say, that eigh- 
 teen centuries are too long for its final consummation i If 
 it took three centuries, to convert the nations bordering 
 the Mediterranean Sea, and from five to ten centuries, to 
 evangelize the great nations of modern Europe, are we to 
 say that Providence is too slow, and that the chariot 
 wheels of a final triumph are too long delayed, because 
 the Gospel has not conquered all Asia, Africa, America 
 and the islands of the sea, in less than a hundred years? 
 
 Let us not forget that almost all great movements are 
 slow. The coral reefs are slowly built ; but when at last 
 they rise from their deep and broad foundations, they 
 form the bulwark of mighty continents, and defy the 
 ocean and the storm. Colonization is slow. The growth 
 of nations is slow. The advance of science, of art, and of 
 human liberty, is slow. The progress of the Gospel is in 
 analogy with all other great moral movements. It has in- 
 deed, led the van, in the march of human civilization. 
 
 Let no one then, say, that the work of modern missions 
 has failed in its grand purpose of converting the world, 
 because every thing has not been accomplished within 
 this Nineteenth Century. When tempted to think, that 
 too much money and time have been spent on the mission 
 work, and too many valuable lives sacrificed, let us re- 
 member, that the foundations of Christianity among the 
 heathen, have to be laid in the lowest depths, and that it 
 
23 
 
 requires time to raise the structure. The apt illustration 
 of one of our own missionaries now in the field, is here in 
 point. 
 
 “ We build, as they build a breakwater, upon some 
 coast where there is no harbor. Year after year, thousands 
 of tons of stone are quarried and brought and cast into 
 the sea. Thousands of dollars are spent, but the passer- 
 by sees not the faintest sign of any result. Years pass, 
 and the waves roll on unbroken, but at last, a solid wall 
 rises above the water, and remains to defy all storms to 
 the end of time. How rejoiced the builders must be, 
 when the first frail line of stone peeps out of the sea ! 
 Till then they have toiled in faith ; then faith begins to be 
 aided by sight, and they go on joyfully to assured tri- 
 umph. Just so it is, that we rejoice over any sign, that 
 Christ’s breakwater against idolatry and sin — the Chris- 
 tian Church — will ere long- arise here high and strong, — 
 lasting enough to bear all assaults, and defy all opposition. 
 Men may say, ‘ The sea has swallowed up all your Bibles 
 and tracts, your teaching, your preaching, and your prayers, 
 and gives no sign. 1 But we can see the wall arising, and 
 it shall never be swept away, for the corner-stone is 
 Christ.” 
 
 Christianity has made no failures, has taken no back- 
 ward step, has lost no real ground. A part of her ancient 
 domain has, indeed, been overrun, by the sword of the 
 Turk and the Saracen. Corruption, priestcraft and world- 
 ly ambition have seduced one portion of her followers ; 
 heresy and infidelity another ; but Christianity herself, 
 stands forth to-day, erect, vigorous, and joyful, the domi- 
 nant religion of the world. Through all the conflicts and 
 disasters of the past, despite of all treacher}^ within and 
 opposition without, she has pressed her onward way to 
 the conquest of the world. Her progress is still onward, 
 and with an acceleration of power, never known before. 
 In the words of another,* 
 
 “ Christianity is on her march, and nothing will stop it. 
 
 * Sylvester Larned. 
 
24 : 
 
 She is moving forward ; and whoever opposes her pro- 
 gress, will only be crushed to pieces. She throws off the 
 puny efforts of Infidelity, as the majestic lion shakes from 
 his mane the dew-drops of the morning. She asks no 
 armistice or compromise from her enemies ; if they will 
 fall into the magnificent procession she is leading, they 
 may yet be received ; if not, they must abide the issue. 
 Methinks the celestial bands are this moment ' ’ i *■ 
 welcome her approach to her native skies. M ^s the 
 seventh Angel has the trumpet to his lips, i._d is pre- 
 paring to sound Hallelujah ! — for the kingdoms of this 
 world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of 
 His Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”